Boot or shoe heel.



No. 642,9I7. Patented Feb. 6, |900. J. J. NAUGHTON.

BOUT 0R SHOE HEEL.

(Application led Feb. 20, 1899.)

(No Model.)

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JAMES JOSEPH NAUGHTON, OF NEV YORK, N. Y.

nBOOT OR SHOE HEEL.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 642,917', datedFebruary 6, 1900.

Application filed February 20, 1899. Serial No. '706 ,138. (No model.)

.T0 @ZZ whom t may concern:

Be it known that I, JAMES JOSEPH NAUGH- TON, of the city of New York,borough of Manhattan, in the county and State of New York, have inventeda new and useful Improvement in Boot or Shoe Heels, of which thefollowing is a full, clear, and exactdescription.

One object of the invention is to provide an attachment to boot and shoeheels whereby the wearing-surface of a heel may be removed at will andreplaced by a new wearing-surface when desired.

Another object of the invention is to provide for the attachment of atread-lift of any desired character to a heel and to supply meanswhereby the detachable lift may be expeditiously and convenientlysecured to the heel or detached therefrom.

The invention consists in the novel construction and combination of theseveral parts, as will be hereinafter fully set forth, and pointed outin the claims.

Reference is to be had to the accompanying drawings, forming a part ofthis specification, in which similar characters of reference indicatecorresponding parts in all the figures.

Figure 1 is abottom plan view of a portion of a shoe-sole and the heelfor the shoe, illustrating the adaptation of the heel to receive thedetachable tread-lift, portions of the heel being broken away. Fig. 2 isa section taken substantially on the line 2 2 of Fig. 1. Fig. 3 is asection taken at right angles to the section shown in Fig. 2 and on theline 3 3 vof Fig. 1. Fig. 4 is a plan view of the detachable lift forthe heel of a boot or shoe, and Fig. 5 is a section taken substantiallyon the line 5 5 of Fig. 2.

A representsthe sole-of a shoe, and B the heel thereof, which heel isadapted to receive an auxiliary and detachable lift or lifts C. The bodyportion B of the heel or that portion which is attached to the sole isprovided with a recess 10 at or near its center, extending from thefront of the heel in direction of the rear, and preferably the upperwall of the recess 10 is made tapering, the inclination of said upperwall of the recess being in a downwardly and rearwardly direction. Therecess 10 is connected directly with a vertical recess 10, made in thefront surface of the body of the heel, as illustrated in Fig. 2.

A plate 11 is secured to the bottom surface of the heel proper, B, andsaid plate 11 is of substantially horseshoe shape and is attached 5 5 tothe heel proper through the medium of nails 11a or equivalent fasteningdevices.

The plate 11 is preferably made of metal, and the space 12 between themembers of the plate is of tapering form, the forward walls a of saidspace or opening 12 between the members of the plate 11 being given aninward and rearward inclination to a point near the center of the plate,from which point the Walls d. are more sharply and decidedly inclinedtoward each other to meet a straight rear wall 0.2. The inner walls ofthe plate 1l are provided witha groove 13, (shown best in Fig. 3,) andthe space between the members of the plate 1l is designed to be closedby a plate 14, that is attached to the auxiliary section or to thedetachable lifts O above referred to.

The plate 14 is shown best in Fig. 4 and is provided with a marginalflange or tongue 15, adapted to enter the groove 13 in the mainheel-plate 11. When the tongue 15 of the plate 14 of the detachablesection of the heel has been fully entered into the groove 13 of themain plate of the body of the heel, the plate 14 of the detachablesection of said heel will evenly and completely close the space betweenthe members of said main plate 11. The plate 14 is secured to thedetachable portion of the heel by means of nails 16 or theirequivalents, and said plate 14, attached to the detachable section C ofthe heel, is provided near the front, at its center, with an aperture17. (Shown best in Figs. 2 and 4.)

In connection with the body B of the heel, or that portion of the heelthat is permanently attached to the sole, a spring 18 is employed. Thisspring is provided with a stud 19, projecting beyond its under surface,and said stud is adapted to enter said aperture 17, as shown in Fig. 2,when the detachable section of the heel is to be secured to the bodyvportion, preventing forward and rearward movement of the detachablesection of the heel, while the plate 14 serves the dual purpose oflocking the detachable section to the iiXed or main section of the heeland prevents side movement. The spring 18 is provided with anupwardly-extending member 18a at the IOO front, and when the spring 18is located upon the main portion of the heel the upwardlyextendingmember 18Ct is located within the front recess 10 of the main or bodyportion of the heel, as shown in Fig. 2. The body portion of the spring18 extends below the inclined recess 10 in the body portion B of theheel, and the rear portion of the spring 18 is made to enter a recess21, made in the upper face of the rear central portion of the main orface plate 11 for the body of the heel, as illustrated in Fig. 5. Thespring 1S is held securely in engagement with the body portion of theheel by means of a screw 2O or an equivalent device passed through theface or body plate 11 into and through said spring, as shown in Fig. 2.

The forward up.vardly-projecting member 1Sa of the spring is usuallyprovided with an opening 18, so that when the attached section C of theheel is to be removed from said body-section a nail or other instrumentmay be introduced into the opening 18b and the spring 18 be liftedsufficiently to clear the stud 19 from the removable section of theheel, permitting said removable section to be drawn forwardly andhorizontally from its engagement with the main or face plate 11 of theheel-body.

I desire it to be distinctly understood that the detachable section C ofthe heel may consist of one or more lifts of leather, rubber, or othermaterial and that the under face of the detachable section of the heelmay be given any shape that in practice may be found desirable;furthermore, that calks may be integrally formed upon the under or treadsurface of the detachable section of the heel, or that calks may beremovably introduced into said detachable section, if desired.

Under the construction shown it is evident that the tread-surface of aheel may be removed and replaced by another section whenever saidsurface becomes Worn, or the treadsurfaces of heels may be removed andreplaced by other tread-surfaces adapted to the conditions of theweather. lt is likewise evident that the detachable tread-surfaces ofthe heels of a pair of shoes are interchangeable. Therefore if the outeredge of the heel of the right shoe should become run down saiddetachable section can be placed upon the heel of the left shoe, thusinsuring an even wear of the tread-sections of the heels.

In the event the detachable tread-section of a heel should by any meansbecome disconnected from the main section of the heel and the spring 1Sshould interfere with locomotion, said spring may be readily removedfrom the body portion of the heel or, if necessary, may be broken offand another spring be substituted when the detachable lift-section isreplaced by another and connected with the main section of the heel.

Having thus described my invention, I claim as new and desire to secureby Letters Patent- 1. A tread-lift for boots and shoes, comprising ahorseshoe-shaped plate having its inner wall recessed and provided witha recess in the upper face of the rear central portion, said plate beingadapted to be secured to the heel proper, a plate carrying one or morelifts and provided with a marginal tongue fitting in the recess in theinner wall of the horseshoe-shaped plate and with an aperture at itsfront end, and a spring having its rear end secured in the recess iu theupper face of the horseshoe-plate and extending forwardly over thelift-plate and provided near its free end witha downwardly-projectingpin entering the aperture of said lift-plate, the front end of thespring being bent upwardly and provided with an opening, substantiallyas described.

2. The combination with a boot or shoe heel provided at its centralportion with a tapering horizontal recess leading out through the frontthereof and with a vertical recess at the front connecting with thehorizontal recess, of a plate substantially horseshoe-shaped and havingits inner wall recessed or grooved, a plate carrying one or more liftsand provided with a marginal tongue fitting in the recess or groove ofthe horseshoe-shaped plate and provided with an opening near its frontend, and a spring having its rear end secured to the upper face of thecentral portion of the horseshoe-shaped plate and extending forwardlyover the lift-plate and provided with a pin near its free end engagingthe opening in the lift-plate and with an upturned free end projectinginto the vertical slot of the heel and provided with an opening,substantially as herein shown and described.

JAMES JOSEPH NAUGIITON.

Witnesses:

J. FRED. AcKER, EVERARD BOLTON MARsHALL.

ICO

